The fitness club landscape in Portugal’s urban areas is highly competitive and it is dominated by a few chains with large-size facilities competing on cost.

Established in 1997, Kalorias has grown steadily to 10 clubs and a six-million Euro turnover in 2016, which makes it a mid-size player by Portuguese standards.

Its family-oriented fitness clubs have distinguished themselves by their focus on not just workouts and fitness but also on health and nutrition.

The new Krush-it concept, positioned in the shopping centre next to a traditional Kalorias club, provides all three as well but it is clearly targeted toward a younger urban clientele.

Edgier and tougher in tone and style, it features a masculine, black-and-white interior and a suck-it-up attitude with the two main group exercise spaces called the Panic Room and the Stress Room.

The latest technology and techniques are evident in the two spaces. Smash It (high intensity interval training with martial arts) and Push It,(workout focused on functional exercises and cardio machines) take place in the Stress Room, and Spin It (stationary bikes theatre) in the Panic Room.

The design concept combines a feel of roughness and toughness with a sense of slightly upscale elegance. Metal, tile, glass and wood are the main materials with a brown gentlemen’s club leather sofa just about the only soft piece in the entire 300 square-metre (3,200 sq.ft) space. Tuija Seipell.